Things You Don't Learn in Veterinarian School
by lieselmemingersthievery
Summary: Lucas is a veterinarian. An ordinary but successful one at that. It's because of that profession that means he'll meet Maya but something about this meeting is a bit... rare.
1. This Wasn't In the Book

_Author's Note:_ _As of recent, I watched almost all of Girl Meets World because I hoped it would be as just as good as Boy Meets World._ _That being said, I am a Lucas and Maya shipper, but it doesn't affect why I don't like Riley. It's when someone is over the top, goofy to the point it hurts, and then being very insensitive towards how your friend feels whenever you've "won" someone's affection._

 _Riley will not be the bad guy in this story but her parts will be minimal. This is a warning in advance of those who will read this story and do like Riley. Zay and Farkle will play a part but this AU mainly focuses on Lucas, Maya, and what brings her to him on a rainy night._

* * *

Wet shoes squeaked against the tiles on the floor.

 _Finally. I get to go home after six vaccinations and three surgeries._

Since Lucas was one of the few veterinarians in town with decent prices, people seemed to flock towards him. The Texas twang in his accent also seemed to intrigue the New Yorkers into his business. The bank had been surprised by how quickly he had paid off a forty thousand dollar loan.

Just when the last light was about to be shut off, there was a thud against the door, followed by the sound of a being trying to open the door. He sighed softly as he walked towards it, setting his brief case down and moving towards the door. After he unlocked it and opened himself to the outside world, just when the words were on his lips, a body fell in, blue eyes meeting his with fear.

He bent down and looked at where her hand covered, then back to the dilated eyes searching his. Her other hand took hold of his jacket, a bloody print being left against the fabric as her head lifted up to speak. "Please," she choked out, her head falling back against the ground as her grip on him loosened.

With a nod, he took the woman into his arms, finding the droplets creating a trail after him as he walked briskly. It was the first room to his left that was best equipped, however that room was halfway down the hall.

It was about six, large strides down before he turned in, opening the door by pushing it with his back. Lucas set her on the table as carefully as possible before turning on the light and beginning to search for supplies.

"Where's the wound?" he asked clearly and as though he had dealt with this a dozen times, though it was furthest from the truth.

There was a few moments that passed, with his back to her and finding a needle with stitches, a tool to pull out objects from the skin, one to stop the bleeding at quick notice, and a scalpel. Once he turned to her, she pulled her hand away from her stomach, and answered softly, "Right under the ribs." Her face seemed to pale in the effort it took to say the words. "Bullet. Lots of blood."

He'd never dealt with a bullet wound on a human before but he would do his best before getting her to an actual hospital. He made sure his hands were steady before pulling up the shirt she wore, moving it so it was just under her bra; he knew he would need room for this one.

He cut into the skin with the scalpel to give the tool room to move into her skin. Her hand flew to his arm and nails bit into his flesh, almost to the point that he bled himself. "I'm going to have to remove the bullet and piece together the skin I can when the bleeding stops," he explained, though he doubted that she was listening.

He pulled the prongs to her stomach, seeing the bullet as his eyes did a small search. He held the skin apart, moving the surgical prongs into her body and slowly pulling the bullet from the muscles. Once the muscles had pulled free from gripping the bullet, more blood appeared, causing him to toss the bullet and prongs aside. He took the syringe of coated sponges and placed it into the space; it was only when his hand came down on the syringe and her body filled with the life saving product that he noticed how loudly she'd been screaming. That was part of what made his focus as a veterinarian so important; he knew how to do his job.

"What's your name?" he asked, attempting to distract her from the pain that would be happening as he stitched her together.

"M- Maya," she stuttered, shaking with the amount of trauma that was beginning to process as he threaded the needle.

He looked into her deep, oceanic eyes before giving her a friendly smile. "What a gorgeous name," he said softly, his eyes moving back to the wound as he set the needle against her skin in preparation. "It's the first time I've heard it."

The needle cut into her skin and the shout that erupted from her seemed almost eardrum shattering; he heard simple ringing as he continued the stitching, making sure to be quick but accurate as he went.

It was only as he was finished with it that he realized he'd been sweating and it was all along his back. "Believe it or not, you're louder than most of the animals I treat," he said as a joke, mainly to get her to a place of becoming calm.

It had the opposite effect, her eyes becoming more distant as she looked up to him, her mouth unable to do more than open and mouth a simple "Thank you."

A tear ran out of the side of her eye as she seemed to accept something for herself. It was at that moment that he registered that he didn't know how much blood that she'd lost before she stopped here, prompting him to take her into his arms once again. It was his responsibility to get her to the hospital now; if he got there early enough, perhaps he didn't go through all of this for nothing. Maybe she wouldn't have spent the better part of twelve minutes on his steel table, only to have to follow the light into the next life.


	2. Hospital Chairs Aren't Comfortable

The drive had been one of the worst that he'd ever made in his life. Keeping her propped up and attempting to keep her conscious caused more anxiety in him that driving over ice on a bridge ever could.

However, nothing had prepared him for sending a girl off from his arms and into someone else's, only to be handed a stack of papers to fill out. Raindrops from the top of his head ran down the back of his neck and the sides of his face; it was almost as if mother nature knew he'd be sweating this part of having to tell the doctors that he had done his best to save her life.

Lucas' eyes focused on the blanks, finding the one under name that read: **First.**

 _At least I can fill out one._

The pen scribbled onto the paper as he wrote her name down. _**Mia**_. His eyebrows pulled together as he shook his head and wrote, " _ **or Maya.**_ " Somehow, his brain seemed to like the notion of the second one. It felt.. right.

Hours passed as he sat in a chair worst than the one his father had bought him for camping one year. No matter how he sat, how he propped his elbows up, or how he laid his head on it, there was no bit of comfort offered to him. He cursed the hospital under his breath because of its laziness to find something enjoyable. At least his waiting room could provide that.

He checked his watch, his mouth falling open at the sight. It was already four o'clock in the morning, five hours since he'd picked up a petite blonde off of the white tile. Just as he began to think of how he would take care of the work situation tomorrow, a tap on his shoulder refocused attention upward, bringing him to stand immediately.

"Mister….?" the nurse began, her gaze falling down to the papers in her hands.

"Friar. Lucas Friar," he filled in, moving the ones in his own under his arm, and clasping his hands together.

The woman before him nodded, motioning for him to follow her. "I figured that since you brought her in, you should know what she's up against. However, since you're not of any relations to her, we can't let you inside to talk to her.

Before he could stop himself, he felt his lips move to say the words, "Oh, actually, I'm her boyfriend."

 _Her boyfriend?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!_

He ignored his mind's internal screaming as he was ushered beyond the pale, green doors, the nurse seeming to understand his position as to why he wanted to know her condition, how well she would recover. If only she knew that it was a scheme of his to understand how well his work on her side had been.

As he heard the last bit, something about bringing her in once a week after she was dismissed, he was ushered in, only to see that the pale skin he had laid eyes on before was nearly translucent. He could see (and name from his experience in anatomy) every vein in her arm, especially the one that was tethered to a IV. He gave a smile as he waved to the nurse that led him in, resting in the chair next to the bed.

"Her _boyfriend_?" he hissed to himself, practically kicking himself for saying such a thing without thinking. "Good one, Friar. As if neighbor wouldn't have made just as much sense." His hands moved the papers from under his arm to his lap as he continued to scold himself.

After more than a few harsh comments to himself, his eyes flickered to Maya, only to see her eyes open and head tilted in curiosity. "So you're my boyfriend, huh?"

His jaw dropped at how well she had embraced the idea, rather than beginning to throw everything in sight at him. "Listen, ma'am-"

"Oh, don't get all worked up now, Doctor Dolittle," she commented in a condescending tone, "you saved my life. It only makes sense that you want to flirt with me now."

A laugh escaped him, followed by a roll of his eyes. "I didn't say it to get back here and lay a few good lines on you. I was more curious on how well I did," he explained, though he knew it would seem like a shallow excuse compared to what she must think he actually wanted from her. "They said I wasn't allowed back here unless I was a relative or had a close relation with you."

Her eyes narrowed in his direction, like she was calculating things before she nodded. "Well I'm not staying here long. Just until tomorrow so I wouldn't get your achy, breaky heart set on it."

"My what?" he questioned, raising a dirty, blonde eyebrow to her.

"I'd have to be dead not to hear your accent. And because it's so prominent, I'm going to spend whenever free time I have _**appreciating**_ it." A smirk worked onto her lips as she shifted to make herself more comfortable in the bed.

He rolled his deep, emerald orbs in return, his gaze falling back to the stack of papers in his lap."Fine, whatever. Just help me fill this out so they can bill your insurance."

At the pure mention of it, she looked what he might call terrified, maybe even unsure of how to process things. Despite the look in her eyes, her voice was strong and unwavering. "I told you; I'm not staying longer than tomorrow so don't even bother with it."

"You can't just not pay the hospital, Maya. Your insurance will take care of a gunshot wound. If not, you need better insurance."

She took notice of his scolding, looking towards the wall. "I- I don't _have_ insurance. Nada, nothing, zip, zero. I've got a car and about twelve dollars left of every paycheck I make. I can't afford all the cushiony things in life."

As his mouth opened to argue, the door swung open, followed by a doctor. Lucas took her hand in his, prompting an exchange of glares between the both of them. The doctor turned to both of him; pen pointed to him as if to begin writing the stitching mistakes on his skin. "You're the person who brought her in, yes?"

"Yes, sir. I also gave the best medical attention that I could with being a veterinarian. I've treated a few animals with the same wound but, as you know, their anatomy is a bit different."

"Well," the physician stated, "you did stop the bleeding and stitched her up as well as one of my nurses would have. All we had to do was update the treatment and provide morphine. We'll need to watch over the wound for six days, as well as aid in teaching her how to self address the stitches to avoid infection."

It was Lucas that spoke up first, though he could see Maya's attention moving to him from the corner of his eye. "I agree; just know she'll put you up for more of a fight than a bull getting castrated, doctor. She's not an easy one to handle."

The immediate knowing that she would be the most difficult person he'd tangled with in his life was just a hunch, but even such words had been an underestimation to her power. And it was only as he saw the kind of fire that was beginning to work it's way to replace the blue irises that he became more aware that he might have to keep making the doctor's visits to make sure she received the care she needed.

The doctor left soon after their conversation as to what should be done, he was left alone again with the blonde beauty, his eyes having yet to lift up to her. "Look, I know that the last thing you want to hear is that you have or need to stay but I'm right on this one. Even if you don't have insurance, I think I know a few ways to get ahold of a loan. In the meantime, just trust me."

As he had prepared himself for another short argument, he noticed the way her breathing had slowed, his eyes moving to the monitor and then to her; she'd fallen asleep somewhere in the medical talk that had been exchanged most likely.

It was at this time that he became aware they were still holding hands to keep up their charade, his hand slipping from her heated one and setting it near her carefully. Why he now bothered himself with taking care of someone so determined to skip town was beyond him; he owed her nothing and she owed him much more than that. Perhaps it was that she reminded him of Zay, someone fierce and outspoken, though he still felt the twinge in his chest to stand by and protect if need be.

His best interest for now was to gone home and rest after a phone call to Zay. His best friend was the other one in the office, though it was for the walk-in clients instead of those that had made appointments. He was sure that he'd have a stern talking to on his hands but that would have to be after the talk he received from Mrs. Lineon about white tile being "hard enough to clean without something bleeding on it and shoes stepping into the mess."

With the newest threat of human life on the line -his own- he walked to the door, tucking the papers he had attempted to write on into the pocket of his jacket, held close so that the when the time came and he could figure out what to do, he could at least hand it off to her.


	3. Favors Aren't Free

_Author's Note:_

 _I am so thankful for all the reviews I have received on this story. I'm grateful for all of those who are following it; for a story that was published eight days ago, it has come such a long way. I'm open to any suggestions; PM's are welcome anytime! Please enjoy these two smol beans; they mean the absolute world to me._

* * *

It had been the busiest week of his life. Vaccines, neutering, spaying, diet tracking, and surgeries all over the place had been only the beginning of his troubles. Then there was the new intern, Riley, who seemed to be more in the way at this point than of any help. It would be a complicated situation already, being as they had attended high school together. She was a sweet girl, sure, but she had already fainted three times while simply watching him give a kitten a shot.

Rather than firing her, he'd sent Riley to Zay, simply because Zay would be able to be either blunt or more patient. Whether he liked it or not, he and his best friend were different in the fact that while he was hurtful, he was never able to present it in a way that would make it forgivable.

It was also during this busy week that Lucas was able to make a decision as to what to do to pay the hefty hospital bill. Being as it was the last day that Maya (she'd clarified the spelling to him) would be in the hospital, he knew that he would need to run it by her.

He walked to the room number, 523, opening the door without the slightest thought to knocking; he held flowers in one hand, something that would make him look like a gentleman to all the nurses who still swooned over how "sweet he is" to Maya. He _really should have_ knocked, based on how on Earth he was going to explain himself.

Maya was behind the door, tugging jeans to her waist, though he caught a glimpse of the lace under it. What struck him as more inappropriate was that she had yet to put on a bra or shirt, carrying herself with no shame to her slim figure and ample breasts. It was as the notion caught up to him that he yelled something incomprehensible and covered his eyes.

"For someone who snips off balls and probably sleeps with his interns on a daily basis, I would think that seeing tits wouldn't be out of the ordinary." _Oh, her humor just had to be raunchy._

Lucas scoffed at the second part of her claim, doing his best to keep his eyes on the wall and his hands to his sides. The hand with the flowers clutched onto them tighter, feeling the pain of a missed thorn against his palm; it gave him focus, especially to keep from thinking about the pale flesh that had been exposed to him. "I came here to tell you that I've found a way for you to have your bills paid and not have insurance, peaches."

He heard the sounds of clothes moving against skin before he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, his eyes finding hers, even though it would've been easy to look elsewhere with their height difference. "And how may that be? Begging for charity at a grocery store through a plastic container? Think again, Friar." Her finger pointed to his chest in emphasis, her jaw tightened to show that she meant business.

With a tilt of his own jaw, handing the flowers to her before putting his other hand into his pocket and pulling out a rectangular piece of paper. "Let's just say that I have a few dollars laying around. And being as I'm your 'boyfriend,'" he explained, using quotation marks, "they won't question it."

He placed the check for sixty-five thousand, nine hundred and thirty dollars in her hand, his eyes meeting hers as his hands were shoved back into his jacket. The smallest smile broke out onto his lips, simply from the way she seemed to be speechless. Tears had gathered in what he had already thought was the ocean, her gaze moving up to meet his. "I can't pay this back. I can't-"

"That's where you're wrong, Maya Hart." Lucas' head turned slightly before shaking and a sigh escaping his mouth. "You need this and I've got something you can do that'll make up for it. I know I can't ask you to pay the full balance, simply because that would make me look like the world's biggest asshole. But I'm going to be asking that you at least come up with half of this balance. The checkups will be free as far as I'm concerned."

Her eyebrows pulled together, almost as if she was offended by some thought that she had in the back of her mind. "And what _the hell_ would someone like _**you**_ want from someone like _**me**_?"

* * *

Sunday was always the slow day. People had brunches, church, etc; he was one of the few vets open on the weekend, more for filing paperwork and maintain organization in his office than anything.

This morning was no different, the wind blowing the leaves in as he opened the door. Mrs. Lineon sat behind the desk, her lips pursed into a line of disapproval. He'd told her his plan first, simply because it involved her more than it would involve anyone else who worked for him. And on cue, she'd complained about his idea, saying that it was nonsense and would never work well.

 **"Survivors don't make good co-workers, especially when they're in your debt,"** she'd told him, sighing but accepting that he had yet to change his mind.

Just as Lucas had pulled off his jacket, leaving him in nothing but scrubs, the door was opened again, bringing in a new gust of air and a face he had become well acquainted with. Their eyes met before Mrs. Lineon cleared her throat loudly, obvious in the fact that she wanted the day to be over as soon as possible. "Are you Miss Hart?"

Maya seemed confused at the usage of her last name but nodded. "I'm the new trainee for being a receptionist," she explained, moving towards the window of the office, though it was in a new, shy fashion for her.

"Yeah, I know. I'm very well aware that you're going to be taking over my job in a few weeks, especially for when I go on a permanent vacation." There was a glare throw over the counter in his direction, to which he gave a soft, nervous laugh and disappeared into the medical wing. While she was old, Mrs. Lineon had prided herself in still working at her age; she hadn't been pleased to tell him that she was retiring, and less pleased when he had passed on the information to Maya in hopes that she would be able to relax in the new setting.

As his shoes squeaked against the tile, he had the feeling that he could end up regretting his decision. Then again, his whole life was a sequence of events of things he could second guess; to this day, there was not one thing he would change. Not even the year he was held back for standing up for his best friend. Hopefully, hiring Maya in order to work out her debt to him would be with the list of those things.


	4. Shots Have Been Fired

_Author's Note:_

 _I'm so sorry that I haven't updated until now. I love this story and I'm so grateful for all the people who read it. This chapter is mostly centered on the friendship of Zay and Lucas in the second half; there will be a few flashbacks in the upcoming chapters. Try not to be too angry with me for late updating!_

 _I have two ideas, possibly three as to who shot Maya and why she was shot. Your best wishes since all two (and possibly three) are all heartbreaking._

* * *

Lucas walked up to the counter, signing off on a few things while he was at it before the glass door, that separated the waiting room from the two women in a small room, slid to open up the space slightly.

"Thank you so much, Doctor Friar. I didn't know what I was going to do since I didn't know what was wrong with him," Josh began, offering a genuine smile.

The blonde mirrored the same expression and shook his head. "It's not a problem; I'm just glad he's going to make a full recovery." He gestured to his relatively new receptionist, giving her a look of slight disapproval when she had stashed her phone back under a group of files, and looked up to him with a guilty grin. "And Miss Hart here will help you with filling out paperwork."

There was a bit of small talk, things about the weather, and the issue with why cat had been brought in for the appointment. It was all things that Mrs. Lineon had taught her on the first day. Some part of him smiled proudly as he rifled through the papers in his own file to give his own report, his ears still in tune to their conversation.

"Your phone number?" Maya asked; even though he knew that it was one of the blanks on the paper, similar to those he had filled out for her in the hospital, he couldn't help but feel his eyebrows furrow together for a moment.

There was laughter at his side, the man obviously too amused by the question to answer it. "Are you asking for the papers or in general?"

 _'Isn't there a rule about receptionists being unable to date a client?'_ he thought snidely to himself, his teeth sinking into the sides of his cheeks. If he trusted the feeling in his gut, it told him he would end up here more often than he would let himself think.

"Maybe I'm asking for both," she countered, her blue pools becoming bright with life, "but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be asking me if it's in general."

The next circle on the paper was drawn more aggressively than he would've liked. _She doesn't have time to be asking questions that don't matter, does she? Well, she's **Maya** , of course she's going to do it anyway._ It wasn't that it bothered him, but more or less that he knew she had better things to be doing.

Though Lucas hadn't known her a lifetime, or for more than ten days, he'd seen her type before. It was to get what she wanted by any means necessary, to stir up trouble, and the kind to get involved with someone who she would assume was off limits.

He went back to his work, tuning them out so that he could slide the file in front of her and visit with his next client. Somehow, whatever thing awaited him on a sterile table seemed more inviting than listening to what went on next to him. His ears perked up at the words, "I'll pick you up at seven," before the sound of the metal door pulling from its place.

Part of him couldn't help himself, the other part just a bit of the edge of being here for nine hours nearly. "I'm glad you're getting acquainted with the clients and I encourage that," he began, his fingers tapping against the glass door, "but be careful with that. It can get.. messy." His sapphire eyes searched hers before he gave a polite smile, proving that he too could have a sharp tongue.

Her red stained lips gave a slightly more sarcastic shape to them, even though they tried their best to mock his. "Of course."

* * *

The end of the day was when relief finally found him, when he was placing his long jacket into the washer and began peeling off his scrubs. He looked up to sound of sneakers, before going back to throwing his stained clothes in with his jacket. "How was your side of things, Nocnoc?"

"You can quit calling me that any day now. We aren't seven anymore," Zay clarified.

"You're the one who ran right into the bars of my fence while telling knock knock jokes; by the way, reflecting on some of the jokes you were telling, they're funny now." He gave a laugh while a shirt was thrown his way. "Do I look like the laundry boy?"

"You could've fooled me," Zay shot back, turning to his own locker.

Lucas laughed and moved to his locker, pulling out a gray shirt, along with dark wash jeans. "I was thinking we could hang out tonight. It's been forever since we have since everything's been so busy." There was a bit of silence to the statement before a soft sigh.

"Lucas, you're keeping me away from the ladies." Zay moved to lean against his locker, a few clicks of his tongue making a tsk sound. "But I guess if you're desperate for company, they'll make due for just one more night."

The blonde vet looked to his best friend before nearly booming with laughter. "Alright, Celine Dion Lover, make it my fault. I'm sure they'll survive without you somehow."

A playful shove was exchanged before a dark arm wrapped around his shoulder. "Actually, this time, I'm not making it up." After a skeptical eyebrow raise, more explanation followed. "Look, I know Riley gets all giggly and such around you, but I'm gonna go for it anyways. She seems like she would be a fun date."

"You mean a date that would jump in your arms the first time they got scared during a horror movie."

"Same thing, my man, same thing."

* * *

It was decided that they would go for something along the lines of either playing against each other in video games or watching a movie. After a wrestling match in the living room, that a well built Lucas won, it was time for the even bigger beat down in Call of Duty. (Granted, Zay gave him a run for his money. While the kid was lanky, there was definitely strength in the legs that the green eyed Texan hadn't been expecting.)

Cheese dip with miniature, bowl shaped Tostitos sat in the middle while he pulled out his best sniper rifle, kneeling on the top of a section of rumble while ' _ZMastaofExplosions12_ ' tried to find where he was hidden.

"Come on, man; hiding is for p-"

With a click, the round had left the end of the gun, hitting the soldier in the back of the neck. It had been just under the head, just on the beginning of the neck. The green title next to the soldier came from off of his side of the screen; on Zay's side, the man had fallen, face down, gun flung off to who knows where. "You were saying?"

A snide smile was tossed his direction, a soft exhale of frustration following. "I remember when I used to kick your ass at this game."

"That was before you became the guy that replaced me in baseball," Lucas reminded him, the slightly tempered expression turning into a proud one.

"That was good year for me; don't guilt trip me for you sucking." There were a few laughs exchanged while the game restarted, all while ' _FuckboyFriar_ ' found a new place to hide and double cross the one chasing him. It reminded him of the all days, where they actually had time that could be spent with the other instead of knees deep in study books or appointments at the office.

"Zay?" he said quietly, his character's had swiping away some underbrush to find a clever place to plant themselves.

On the other side of the screen, binoculars were raised to give further eyesight and range of the ruins mixed with vegetation. "Hmm?"

He paused, his lips pressed together. "Do you really think it's a good idea to take Riley out? You know, being as you two work together. It could get awkward if it hits the fan."

"Oh, Mr. Moral Compass, like you have room to talk. I remember Katie; the client that always needed to see you in the office because of something to do with her animal's test results." There was a playful shove given, causing a misfire on the dirty blonde's part. "Don't think I don't know what you were doing in there. Walls are thin and she had just about the healthiest dog in New York."

"...Focus on firing your own gun," Lucas retorted, laughing both from the next misfire on his part, but partially because he hadn't expected his "squeaky clean" reputation to have been remembered to have a dirty splotch. He'd always been considered the best of the bunch, but even he fell a few times.

Looking back on the mention of his unOrthodox method, he knew from the upcoming dread building in him. He wouldn't like it but he'd have to. _She deserves an apology._


	5. Sugar, Spice, Birthday Cake Sounds Nice

_Author's Note:_

This is a _**big**_ _Lucaya chapter (and a big chapter in general. Don't expect this much out of me ever again, lol). I think I fell in love with it; call me cocky but it's too good. I know I had two people concerned; there is_ _ **no upcoming Rucas**_ _. There will never be more than what Zay said in the last chapter about Riley getting giggly. If there are interactions between the two, it'll be work related, I promise. (I can't stand Rucas, oops. not sorry.)_

 _I also know that there's been a lot of questions as to 'who dun it?' It will be answered but if it's any time soon, that's up in the air still. I love you all and please enjoy this update._

 _Warning: There is some explicit content in this chapter so if that makes you uncomfortable, I apologize in advance, but do remember that they're mid twenties now instead of in their early teens. Another warning is that things are going to get.. messy. Maybe not at first but this is a beginning. It was originally going to be written in somewhere else but I just couldn't help myself._

* * *

His fingers dug into his palms as he sat in the receptionist office, his chair turned towards Mrs. Lineon. "So how do you think I should go about apologizing? I know I wasn't the greatest, but is it really necessary?" His expression changed to a hopeful one, only for an eyebrow to be raised at him.

"Doctor Friar, do I look like I have time to help you fix your ego?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then, by my own grandson's words two weeks ago, 'grow a pair.' _You_ hired her against my better judgement, which means you're responsible for what you have to do with her. _Not_ me." She held out a file to him, her lips pressed together with exasperation. "It's been days, Lucas; nearly a week, if I might add. Put on some grown up pants and _**do it**_." There was a power behind her voice, like the kind that reminded one to mind her rather than deal with the consequences.

He knew he'd been dodging Maya, simply because it meant that he was wrong and that he would have to hear her rub it in his face for the next three weeks. It was almost as if they had a battle of pride going currently; he was winning, but only from his lack of sharing information with her. If she only knew what he'd been tossing around in his head..

He stood up, sighing softly before opening the door. "Lucas," the woman behind him called, making him turn around and raise a slight eyebrow towards her. "Before I retire." She pointed a finger at him, the red, polished nail almost screaming, 'you know exactly what she's talking about.'

Lucas nodded back, walking out the door and closing it, the waiting room's door opening as if on cue.

"Can you believe that?" a voice said, the figure creating a shadow onto the rays of sun on the floor. It belonged to Maya, curly headed and head thrown back as she laughed. One hand was behind her, dragging in a dark headed man behind her.

Her lips flattened at the sight of him, rather turning to face Josh and her hands running along his shoulders. Her head tilted slightly, the man's eyes on her entirely. "We'll talk later, okay? And remember, just because I'm not your girlfriend yet doesn't mean you don't have to celebrate my birthday with me."

Josh looked confused by the mention of her birthday, but let it go as she pressed a kiss to his mouth softly and sent him right back out. Lucas' green pools caught her reflection in the glass door; her teeth bit into her painted lips, almost in a spiteful sense of enjoyment.

"Are you going to quit staring, Huckleberry?" she questioned, spinning on her heel to face him. "I know you can use your words to disapprove of things a lot better." She gave a sarcastic smile and headed for the receptionist's office, only to be stopped by him moving to block the door.

He took a deep breath in, holding the file against his chest as her eyes moved back up to meet his own. "Actually, I'd like to talk to you about this past Sunday. In my office, if you will."

She scoffed at the idea, her eyes narrowing before she motioned towards the hall. "Right after you, Doctor Friar."

 _You can't be rude; you have to apologize. Apologize._

If he said it enough times in his head, he'd be able to focus better, he reminded himself, rather than be distracted by her obvious attempts to provoke him. It was what he'd been taught from his mother to keep manners.

As his sneakers squeaked, he remembered the last time he'd been in these hall's with her; she'd been in his arms, holding onto her stomach for dear life and he'd been terrified, almost as if he didn't know what to do. It was weird how two weeks could change things drastically, like how he would be having to go with her for her first checkup since the wound, how they seemed to be so far from the progress they'd been making.

They came to the door, the pit of dread settling in his stomach as his hand turned the knob and he sauntered in. He was in no hurry to say these next few words to her. He took a deep breath as he found his desk, sitting in the chair and hearing the click of the door as it moved into place. "Please take a seat."

Maya settled into the chair that allowed her feet to be propped up, causing a mutual glare between the two. "So, what have I been called in here for? Was my kiss in the lobby too PG-13 for you?"

Lucas felt his teeth sink into his cheek again as he gave a laugh that suggested he didn't find the joke all that amusing. "Actually, I wanted to apologize. What I said the other day was.. Uncalled for." _Deep breath in, it's almost over._ "I have had a client or two back here and have done more than flirt," he stated, his hand scratching awkwardly at the small hairs on the nape of his neck, "so I shouldn't have been so harsh. I was wrong to do that, especially in front of Mrs. Lineon."

She seemed to be shocked, her mouth opening as her eyebrows pulled together in a state of confusion. Did an apology really seem so rare from him? Did he seem the type to be so self centered that he couldn't own up to what he did wrong? _'That's more up her alley,'_ he thought to himself as she still seemed to be grasping for words. "That's.. That's right. You _can't_ tell me who I can and can't date. And I will have you know that Josh, your client, is very satisfied with my version of paying for a doctor's visit." She seemed to be refreshed life form, as if energy were overflowing from her.

He could tell his face was disgusted, even without her laugh that seemed to touch every corner of the room. "Onto more pressing matters," he emphasized, his hands drumming against the desk, "we have to figure out when your next appointment is and when to have your birthday dinner."

"Birthday dinner?"

"I'd have to be stupid if I didn't know it was in two days. That's something I figured out by having to fill out your hospital papers instead of having to be reminded constantly." His tone was snide in his reference to Josh; just because he had apologized about his harsh words didn't mean he had to be polite.

Her sapphire orbs fell to somewhere at the side of her desk, her lips pressing together for a few moments before she seemed to gather herself. "Right. Well, I'll most likely be out with Josh on my actual birthday but how about we have fun tonight and then my appointment tomorrow? I've got to look my best. _For my date_."

Now she was just rubbing salt in the reopened wound, which irritated him but caused his nose to wrinkle slightly as he smiled. "I'll set up the appointment. Just meet me out in the parking lot after work and we'll talk about what we'll do tonight."

She nodded, her feet moving off from the desk. "Looking forward to it, Southern Bell." She gave a mocking kiss in his direction, walking outside the door and leaving him with regret.

 _'Apologize, she said. Do it before I'm retired, she said,'_ he mocked in his head, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

* * *

By the time he was changing out of his scrubs, he had blood coating it, from an intestine incident with a dog. He'd had to change scrubs for checking out a cow that was about to give birth, only to see that while the cow was not shy on emptying out all the bowel contents, it was shy on giving birth for at least another day. He reeked of bile, something he knew he'd have to shower off.

Lucas pulled off all of his clothing, climbing into the shower just a left turn away from the lockers. He closed the specialized, textured door, watching the blood collect at the bottom of the drain. He sighed softly as he washed his body, finding that his skin slowly faded from the intestinal smell and became the blend of cucumbers and clean linen. It had been the first one on the shelf that looked nice and women seemed to enjoy it.

He shook away the thought of Maya needing to be one of the women that was impressed by him, reminding himself that friends didn't need to be impressed more than anyone ordinary did. Besides, she had Josh; she wouldn't be pushing her luck to go for the both of them, now would she? Triangles never seemed to work out for too long, especially for anyone smart enough to stay out of them.

After his shower, he can out in a towel, checking that the room was clear before getting dressed in a button down, grey trousers, and black dress shoes. He kept the first few buttons undone, looking at himself in the mirror as Zay entered the room, turning to stare for a few moments.

"You know, if I swung that way, I'd be all over you right now."

"Oh shut up," he said, laughing and rolling his eyes. "I'm taking Maya out for a birthday dinner and I have to at least look presentable."

There was a few hums before Zay did a small little dance that Lucas saw in the mirror. "Oooh, you really went for it. See, I knew by the way you were making eyes at her the other day that you wanted to fu-"

"It's _**dinner**_ , Zay. I'm not doing anymore than that. Besides, she's dating someone we both know. So treat it like your optimism of seeing a Celine Dion concert and let it die."

A finger was pointed at him, a legendary head tilt given at the thought. "Don't you talk about my sacred, spirit mother like that. It's going to happen, just you wait, Fuckboy Friar."

There was a roll of eyes from Lucas, but he pulled away from the sink, making his way towards the door. He heard the voice from behind him say, "Get saddled, boy; she's going to be your Tombstone."

He knew that his best friend meant Maya but the only hurdle to actually be passed was one from sarcastic hostility to a comfortable friendship; that was what he wanted. His shoes seemed to give a soft thud against the floors, his feet only stopping when he saw Mrs. Lineon just beyond the doors.

"I let her go home a bit early. She wanted to look better for your date."

"It's not a date."

"Going to dinner, by yourselves, and you dressed like that isn't a date?" She whistled softly, shaking her head. "I'd hate to be the girl that says no to a date with you then. You'll have taken them to Europe for pizza at this rate."

He rolled his eyes, muttering a soft, "Goodnight, Mrs. Lineon," under his breath before going out into the parking lot. His eyes adjusted to darkness, seeing the figure next to his car, but unable to see more than a head of hair shined on it by an orange glow. "Maya?" he called out, adjusting his jacket as he neared the door of his passenger side.

"What took you so long? Did you castrate a cow before you got dressed?" she commented as he moved closer to her. Now that he could see her, he could see the dress that clung to her figure. It was simple, floral dress, but short, leaving his eyes to only take in the pale legs that were underneath; she looked taller, her legs now more distracting than they had been when she'd been more or less naked in the hospital room.

"No, I had other things to be doing." His eyes were back on hers after focusing more on the ground after his gazing, only to notice that she seemed to be staring. "See something you like?" He teased, taking the keys out and unlocking the doors to his car.

She laughed but didn't say anything back, climbing in with only a soft grunt. He looked over to her after buckling his seat belt, his brow laced a bit of worry. "How much does it still hurt? I can go back in and look at it before we go-"

"Of course you'd want to look up my skirt," she teased back, her gaze not giving off the severity of the situation as he had hoped, "but I'm hungry so step on it."

He rolled his eyes, nodding and starting the car, slowly backing out of the space. The radio played something country, something that she wrinkled her nose at before changing it to something with more of an Indie fashion. He sang along softly, hearing a surprised scoff leave her mouth.

"You mean to tell me that you know more than what Texas can provide?" she mocked, laughing softly when he rolled his eyes.

"Call it unusual but I do know how to change a radio station, sweet cheeks." The name was his own little backfire towards her already growing list of ones towards him.

The city passed them be in flashes of light, seeming to end when he parallel parked in front of a French restaurant, paired with an Oh Wonder song. After parking, he'd climbed on, moving to her side and opening the door. He could tell that his eyes lingered for a little longer than they should have, but he was a man after all; anyone who wasn't blind would've been watching her.

She stepped up to the stand with a waiter behind it, saying something about "amazing makeup" and exchanging tips before her hand wrapped up into a bit of his jacket sleeve and pulled him along. Their journey stopped at a place in the back, surrounded by white lights and a garden just beyond the seats.

The woman disappeared after they sat and ordered their drinks, leaving him to look up to the moon through the distorted glass above him. "Thank you, by the way."

He looked back down, tilting his head in confusion before he picked up on what she had meant. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'm half trying at this point."

"Whatever you say, Ranger Rick," she retorted with her lips turned into a mischievous smile, just as her head turned to the garden.

* * *

After dinner, he'd taken her to his house to rest after drinking more wine than she should have; she was conscious and could comprehend every word he was saying just fine, but when she had tried to walk out of the restaurant on her own, she had nearly fallen. (Several times, if he might add, from her insistence to walk on her own.)

And being as she crashed on his couch and ended up on the kitchen floor somehow, he left her to sleep in. This plan had only come back to bite him when there'd been a call in the office. Rather than Mrs. Lineon answering, it had been Zay, who had walked in his office with the hands free phone.

"So, what is Maya doing on your kitchen floor?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

Lucas had felt the blood drain from his face as he shook his head and laughed awkwardly. "No, that's not-"

"Mhmm, Friar, mhmm."

It had been arguing between who should talk to her over the phone and who would pick her up to bring her back to the clinic; Zay seemed to have the will power to pry into what had happened the night before. And while it had been nothing but small talk about work, learning experiences, pay checks, and exes, Lucas had the will power for Zay to keep from asking questions and implying things that would lead to a mess.

In the end, he'd won, just by the fact that they had arm wrestled over it and Lucas was still the stronger of the two. With the victory, he'd raced out to his apartment, seeing Maya already in the parking lot with the mascara smudged under her eyes. He contained his laughter as he rolled down the window, her finger being pointed at him. "Say anything and it'll be your death."

The drive had given them more time for small talk, mainly for them to speak of how surprisingly clean his house was for a man and how it had taken her ten ages to figure out that he had aspirin in his kitchen drawer instead of his bathroom's drawer. Which raised the question as to how much snooping she'd actually done in his house.

Things became more interesting once they were in the hospital room. He once again found himself turning away when she was taking off her clothing. It seemed too.. private for him to keep looking, even if he'd already seen what was underneath. The doctor seemed to not be phased by the nakedness while Lucas found himself more distracted with looking at the recovering wound more than.. other things.

"You've taken really good care of it, Mr. Friar." It was after those words were said that he remembered that they were supposed to be acting like a couple for the doctor.

"Oh, he's been the sweetest thing; making homemade chicken noodle soup, cooking Italian for yesterday," Maya piped in, looking genuinely happy to the normal eye but sarcastic to him. "He changes my bandage whenever I feel the slightest bit uncomfortable and helps me ba-"

"I think he get the point, honey," he finally said before she could keep going on and on. His standards didn't need to be set so high that no one else could live up to him. He wouldn't have minded it ordinarily but he didn't like the dreamy gazing that some of the nurses gave him after her story telling.

Out of this odd sense of comfort, he reached out for her hand, feeling hers wrap around his before her other hand rested along his arms. It ran a small course up to the crease of his elbow before back to his wrist, making their eyes meet for a small snippet in the course of time. It had oddly felt natural, like it had been what they'd been doing for ages now.

And as brave as he was, had displayed in himself to be, he finally felt the smallest twinge of fear that he always read about. The kind of fear when someone he knew- all too well and not at all- seemed to wedging themselves in every corner they could find in his comfort zone.

* * *

Work had been long the following day and "Doctor Friar" had been more than ready to do more than sink into his bed, sleep, and wake up tomorrow. That was the schedule and long hours saw to it that he wanted nothing more in his life.

However, there were other plans for him that night.

There was a hard knock on his door, just as he had been getting ready for to going to bed. He hadn't undressed yet but he'd paused with his toothbrush in his mouth, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. He hadn't invited anyone over that he remembered inviting over. He finished the final brushes and spit it out, clearing out his mouth before answering his door. Maya stood at the threshold, oceanic pools full of tears. Her hand was still raised to knock on the door, falling at the sight of his face. "You see, normally, I don't have this thing called hope. Normally, I'm just fine if people don't follow through."

Lucas raised an eyebrow, almost as if to understand where all of this had come from. She took a deep breath and looked as if she wanted to continue, her lips pressed into a thin line to gather herself. "So don't ask me why it's different this time. Don't ask me why I cared that he didn't wish me a happy birthday on the phone, but instead told me that he had a meeting he had to go to that was more important and he would have time to celebrate it later. I don't have to explain myself to you as to why I'm here and not partying with some guy who lives on the floor below me."

He nodded, taking a step forward, and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. "I know." She rested her head on his arm because, in reality, that's where she came up to with her height. One of his hands raised to her hair, stroking it softly, making sure to take slow and deep breaths. After all the times of holding his mother through the tears of having to transfer wherever gave the best money (despite all the family friends made), he'd learned that slow breathing meant comfort.

A few moments passed, her head being pulled away from his arm, their eyes meeting. She moved one hand to the back of his neck, pulling his head down. Their lips met before he could even process the moments that were adding up.

The kiss was soft at first, but then it escalated much quicker than he could've ever thought. Her hands pulled his shirt off, like her life depended on it, his own hands pulling her through the door and against him. Maybe it was the way that her hands felt like fire on his chest- a campfire against his soft heart towards her- that gave him the motivation to lift her up into her arms.

There was a soft sound against his mouth as he stumbled towards his couch, her hips rising as his seemed to move down to settle above her. His hands moved the straps of her dress down, his mouth taking over where they had been placed. She wasn't looking at him, or at least he noticed that whenever his eyes flashed to her face. It would've been fine, had she been someone else, but she wasn't. She was Maya, someone who he seemed to need to prove himself to.

His teeth sank into her skin lightly, her eyes opening and flickering down to meet his, her mouth agape slightly. Her chest rose and fell, just as his own, as he moved the dress lower, his tongue running over the mark he'd make on her shoulder. Her hand in his hand tightened, the other dealing with his belt and pants button all at once. His lips moved to her throat, creating a similar splotch as the heels of her feet moved his pants down to his knees so that he was at least somewhat free.

Lucas shivered at the now mobile hand scratching against his back as he grinded against her, the teeth against her flesh becoming slightly rougher. His thoughts had become lost to him as to whatever sense of morality he had whenever he was dealing with each other, his only thought appearing again when he had pulled the red thong from her hips and flicked it to his floor. _Good color on you, Peaches._

It was only a moment before his boxers had followed, one hand disappearing into her hair, the other taking her jaw in his hand softly. He turned her head so it wasn't to the side, her teeth taking in his thumb in a more than suggestive manner. His orbs searched her face, meeting her own after seconds passing. "Happy birthday, Maya."

His tone was sincere before his mouth moved to hers once again to absorb the soft gasps coming from her. It thrilled him in some sense that she had chosen him to spend the night with her, and some part it being him spending this time with her. It seemed to send his nerves splitting themselves apart, like every bit of his senses had magnified over a hundred times.

Their mouths fell from one another as the sound of their ecstasy mixed, only joined by the sound of skin sliding against each others with each thrust; her hips had begun to roll, meaning that his fingertips sank into her skin deeper, leaving prints of himself along her body. Prints that said at one point, he'd taken her as his own, just as the claw marks that left a rawness to his back claimed the same from her.

At to some extent, just their marks made in their aggressive need towards each other could've satisfied him alone.


	6. Deep Oceans of Trouble

_Author's Note:_

 _I couldn't just leave it here for too long. I'm going to try to update once every two weeks at the least, but no promises. I finally made up my mind on the 'who dun it' question, and I think it's a pretty good one. You won't have seen this coming for miles._

 _I'm not sure if I want Zaley or Riarkle to be endgame; so the one with the most votes wins. It's early enough in the game that I can easily make it either without a drastic change in the plot._

 _Do your best to enjoy this chapter but a fair warning is needed. Lucaya is still very far off into the distance._

* * *

Lucas woke up alone. He wasn't as surprised about it as he should've been, rather rubbing his eyes and moving to the edge of the bed. He felt a slight sting, being unable to place it until he passed the full-length mirror on his way to the bathroom. He had to do a double-take before walking back over to the full image of himself.

His once neat, blonde hair was a mess, light scratches going from his shoulders down to his ribs; he turned and saw that the scratches on his back were much fuller, and actually seemed to have produced more than shed skin. His mind wandered to how it had been created, first on the couch, then the coffee table with her back towards him, then another round or two at the edge of the bed. Normally, he wouldn't have had the stamina for it to be in a row, nor to keep someone else going that long, but he hadn't slowed down for a second. Her trembling from under him had served as more than enough motivation.

There weren't any marks made by her mouth other than one right under his ear, only that she'd made when she'd been close and had tried to distract herself from releasing first for the second time.

After finding his reflection to be near hopeless, he sighed softly and went off to his shower. No matter how hard he washed his body, he couldn't wash the scent of vanilla and sweet pea from his neck. _There's a reason Zay gave you the nickname Fuckboy Friar. This isn't your first rodeo, remember?_

Driving had been uncomfortable with the scrubs rubbing against his back like a thin, but itchy, Christmas sweater. He decided that along the drive that as long as Maya didn't bring up what happened, he wouldn't either. It was better that way than to make it about feelings and anything more than her taking comfort in him. He also concluded that he would have to tell Zay the second he had any time to his name; he knew better than to keep something like that under the wraps.

His SUV pulled in, but his rear view mirror suggested he was later than he intended to be. Funny enough, in his rear view mirror _was a rear view, w_ hich was Maya walking towards the door of the clinic. He pulled at his top, clearing his throat as he refocused his attention to his job. He knew he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by such things.

The blonde Texan entered the building after her, picking up the first file that was on the counter. "Good morning, y'all." His eyes closed with fresh regret as he heard a laugh bubble up from the only other blonde in the office.

His eyes flickered to her, seeing that despite her best efforts, a few splotches of the tender bites he'd given her were visible through the foundation. "Maya, it's a normal thing to say y'all."

"Oh, I know." Another laugh followed as the glass slid over, her hand being placed over her mouth as if it could actually contain such a thing. "But no one else sounds like a redneck doing it."

Snide but teasing glances were exchanged, only being interrupted by the bell of the door. He expected it to be the intern, or perhaps Zay, but it was neither. Rather, it was Josh, bright smile and ridiculously fake leather hanging from his shoulders. Lucas' gaze followed the client's, only to see blue eyes, full of light and paired with a dimpled smile. The door to the receptionist's office opened, meaning that she was walking towards the dark haired man in the doorway. It was as she was walking past him that he had to lift the file up to his mouth in order to hide his smirk and muffle his soft laughter.

There was something odd about the walk, like doing it properly was quite a struggle to it. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, hugging Josh and sighing softly. "Just been doing a bit of exercise is all."

"Oh yeah? What kind? I haven't seen too many people walk like that after they hit the gym." Josh's eyebrows were raised in a fashion that was skeptical but it could've been easily washed away with convincing words.

Maya chuckled for a bit, trying to find some explanation in a quick about of time. "Oh, you know.. The kind that stretches things out. I'm just a little sore so I should be fine tomorrow." She placed her hand on his chest, slowly running it up to his shoulder and then down his arm. "And then I'll be ready for a bit of some different kind of stretches."

Lucas had begun to write on the file in a way to distract himself, feeling liquid drip down his hand. Once he had checked, he noticed that he'd broken the pen, only to leave the ink to get all over his hand and the file at the same time. After clearing his throat, he went off to the receptionist's office, his eyes never leaving the scene unfolding before him; even Mrs. Lineon had to clear her throat in order to get his attention as he was attempting to start a new folder to put the papers in.

There was a look exchanged between them before his lip curled up slightly in a, 'mind your own business' manner. "Not a single word, Mrs. Lineon, not a single world." Her only reply was a chuckle and knowing smile. _Doesn't matter, not jealous._

* * *

By the time lunch time rolled around, Lucas felt as if he were going to explode. There hadn't been time to tell Zay what had happened, and now there seemed to be. They'd met up in his office for lunch and had begun a game of throwing a small ball back and forth.

Lucas sighed, thinking as he tossed the ball over the table. "Zay, I'm going to tell you something and not have you freak out, alright?" He paused, taking a deep breath before all the words came tumbling out. "Maya and I had sex. Like she came to my house and we sort of just happened. But it was only for last night."

There was a flicker of understanding before it became a fit of laughter. "Alright, sure. And I took a trip from Mars to Earth and back overnight." Zay rolled his eyes, only for them to land on the splotch right under the pale ear. There was a bit of tossing the ball back and forth between his hands before his eyebrows pulled together, his eyes then becoming wide.

Lucas cleared his throat, bringing his hand up to cover the mark. There was a bit of silence between them and for a moment, he thought that he might have scared his friend into a life-long vow of silence. There was a final break as one word was yelled. _**"M**_ _ **aya!**_ **"**

There was a look of annoyance on his face. "Please be louder!" he whisper-hissed. "I don't think all of Canada heard you quite yet!"

"Why? How? _When? **Where?**_ " The questions seemed to be running a million miles per hour, something that made him think before he answered.

"She was upset about Josh not taking her on a date for a birthday. How? Well, pulling off clothes and underwear and then getting right to it." The veterinarian paused, his eyes moving to the ceiling as he had to recall the events. "I know it was a bit later in the night but I hadn't gone to bed yet. As far as where, I'd steer clear of the couch and table for awhile; I also had to change the sheets to my bed."

Zay laughed, though he seemed slightly shocked. "Friar, you _dog_."

"It's not like I meant to. _She_ made the move first," Lucas clarified, pointing a finger as if his best friend was the true guilty party.

"Mhmm. Next, you're going to tell me that you went on a date with her and didn't like it."

"It. Wasn't. A. Date. She and I went out to dinner. We went home after three hours. Nothing big."

After an eyebrow exchange and a few snarls given, the two were back to throwing the ball and attempting to hit each other in the face. This moment reminded him of when they were in high school and he'd lost his virginity long before anyone else in his grade. (Granted, he'd been a year older, but some others had been as well.) The only difference now was that they were much older and somehow more foolish with the situations they seemed to be getting themselves in.

* * *

This was the second time his doorbell had gone off near eleven at night. He sighed and rose from the couch, once again, finding Maya behind it. He almost opened his mouth to say something else but closed it in the way her expression changed.

"He's- We were just driving and all of a sudden, this shot goes right through th-the window and he-" she rattled off, her hand motions frantic. Her hand locked around his wrist and he found himself being dragged down the stairs, the explanation forgotten as her legs seemed to be doing overtime. Her face was covered in blood, mud, and tears, a mix that never gave a good outcome.

Once he was in the parking lot of his apartment complex, he broke his wrist free and latched onto hers, stopping her to look at him. "Maya, you have to tell me what happened before I go out there. We need to get help."

"I don't know if he's dead. He got shot in the shoulder and I screamed when he swerved and passed out. I don't remember too much after that but I know that I ran 3 miles because I knew you were close. You were the only person I knew could help him."

Perhaps it was the adrenaline leaving her system or just the shock of seeing someone shot. Either way, her legs were going out from under her, one arm already catching her before her knees could hit the asphalt. He saw that she was still awake but her face was too distorted for him to do more than pick her up and carry her. "You'll have to tell me where the vehicle is. He'll be fine."

She simply nodded as he settled her into the passenger seat, her hands already doing the work of the seatbelt as he jogged around and climbed in. After doing so, he started shifting gears the second he was able to, pulling from the parking space with a screech.

The ride was brief and Lucas reminded himself that he had to stay calm before anything else. After all, he'd gone from veterinarian to bullet wound specialist in a matter of weeks, it seemed. He didn't have to be told where the crash was; the glass was everywhere and the metal of the car had scraped the pavement before sliding into the grass.

He left his car parked on the other side of the road, turning to look at her. "Wait here."

He wasn't sure what he would do once he got there but he had to at least try to get Josh out of the wreckage. He jogged across, seeing smoke still flow up from the hood of the car. Green orbs scanned the area and he saw Josh sitting there, head half blown off, mouth agape and hands still clutching the steering wheel.

For the first time in a long while, his stomach threatened to turn and empty their contents, his hands automatically finding his phone and dialing 911. "This is Lucas Friar, I'm on a back road, God knows where; there's been a crash and the driver is dead. His name is Josh Matthews."

His eyes moved back over to his own vehicle, seeing Maya's eyes on him the entire time. Her eyes were glossed over with tears, her jaw clenched so she wouldn't let them drop. Her hands were held together, her knuckles becoming white. He thought about how she said he'd been shot in the shoulder and checked; the wound was there, still pumping some blood out slowly. Which meant that not only had it been a murder, but that Maya would be the first suspect.


	7. Sugar, Something's Not Right

_Author's Note:_

 _This chapter is from Maya's point of view for a little bit, but it's just to show what she's going through so that it isn't a mystery in the end. This will most likely be the only chapter that I write from her point of view, unless it turns up to be really important. The stakes are higher and who knows if there's more death on the way. If there is, cross your fingers._

 _Enjoy, especially since it's been awhile._

* * *

The flashing lights had scared the hell out of Lucas. He was standing there, near his vehicle, his eyes focused on the wreckage, when they seemed to come out of nowhere. His arms were crossed over his chest, his frame blocking the sight of the person in the passenger side.

It didn't seem to matter that she hadn't committed the crime, or that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she couldn't commit a crime like that. She didn't have to be sweet or innocent to have that proven for her. He'd seen her with Josh; no one that knee deep into the cupcake stage could do something like that.

He pulled away from side of his SUV, meeting the police at the other side of the road. "I'm the one that called."

A flashlight was brought up to his face and his hand lifted to shield his eyes. "You told the 911 operator that you were prompted to call because of someone named Maya," the officer said, moving the flashlight to the window and looking in.

"Yes, she was with him when he was shot in the shoulder." His hand pointed to the deceased's shoulder, clearing his throat. "She said she didn't know if he was alive or n-"

"He has half his head blown off. How dead does he have to look before she gets the point?"

Lucas found himself taking inhaling a bit of air slowly before he began to explain again. "It was just in the shoulder when she left. Someone had to have come back to make sure he was dead."

The officer took down short notes, like it was irrelevant to listen to what was being said. He felt his eyebrows pull together but ignored it, looking to the car and seeing Maya being ushered out of it. His head tilted and he felt his feet already moving against the ground. "Hey, hold up!" he called, noticing that they had already put her hands behind her back. "Maya-"

"Rule number one, Friar," she began, looking up to him, "don't fight it. You'll only make this worse." She walked past him to the police car and he found himself understanding a little more of her. She'd been arrested before and she was making sure that his first official one went smooth.

"You can't take her; she didn't do anything," he insisted, taking a few steps towards her. A few men on the job moved in front of him, blocking him from most of the view but he could piece together what was happening just fine. She was being shoved into a car because they thought she did it. He moved to push past the men, only to be given a gentle push back into his place.

"It's temporary if she isn't guilty."

Despite knowing better than to even think of fighting the police officers that held him back, he thought of how long it would take him to get past and for them to catch up to him. He gave a hard shove and found they were losing their footing; it would take just one push before he could be close enough to pull open the door and remove her from the car. He also knew that what he was doing was illegal. So he let his sneakers slide against the grass, let himself be pushed face down into it, and let the handcuffs move over his wrists.

The cold metal against his skin reminded him of the high school days, where he sat in the principal's office and he had just punched his way through someone's teeth for making fun of Zay. But he'd never been through the process of someone telling him to duck his head and having to be driven to a police station. He wondered if his records would talk about his former days, the days where his anger rolled over him in a wave and completely consumed any rational thought.

The ride wasn't long; it wasn't until he saw Maya through the doors that he had acted out again. He moved his shoulders, trying to wrestle free from the grip they had on his arms. "Don't struggle, kid," an officer hissed into his ear, his calves burning with the temptation of wanting to press his heels into the ground and push back against them.

He did once he reached where he was about to pass Maya, his reflection in her eyes much more grotesque than he thought it would be. Grass was every which way in his hair, his cheek covered in mud and a small cut on his cheek. The marks on his neck didn't help with things now that he thought about it; he found himself wishing he had at least made an effort to cover them.

It was only enough time to exchange a look, her lips curving into a slightly nervous smile, but one that was meant to reassure him. But she didn't know that he didn't need the smile towards him. He knew she was innocent, and he'd do _just about anything_ to prove it.

* * *

 **[ Maya's Point of View ]**

The cuffs didn't hurt; she was used to the feeling. She hadn't exactly been the shining star in her family. So when she was pushed into the chair and one of her cuffs taken off so they could loop the chain around the metal bar, she stayed still, holding her wrist out for the cuff to be put onto her wrist again.

Maya lifted her blue eyes to the detective in front of her, seeing the dark hair and the slightly aging face; one that spelled out that he had spent many nights late on the job. New detectives were usually ready to pounce and finish the interrogation without too many questions, while the matured ones knew where to strike and what to ask to certain suspects. "I didn't do anything," she began, sighing softly.

"If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that, I would have ten times more money than my pension for when I retire." There was a laugh before photos were slid across the table. They were face down at first, which made her eyes narrow at the man in front of her.

"Wow, if you could catch the person that actually killed Josh as quick as you printed out those photos, you might actually be doing something productive." Her tone was irritated and she could tell, she was pushing on someone with a fuse that would take forever to even get started.

The pictures were flipped over without a word and she found herself letting out a sound that sounded close to the start of sobbing. Josh's mouth seemed to be the only thing that was actually attached, and it was open wide, the rest of his head looking like meat from an animal that had been run over. "W- what is this?" She asked, cursing under her breath as she felt the tears beginning to fill her eyes. That's why Lucas had given her that look, that's why he'd been so intent on never letting her get to the station.

 _He'd been protecting you from this._

"It's what Josh looks like now. His head was blown off, by a handgun. It was shoved into his mouth and aimed up; someone went through a lot of trouble to make it look like he killed himself after getting shot in the shoulder by a sniper rifle." The officer tilted his head at her, his eyes suddenly more understanding than they had been when he had turned the pictures to their upside. "The man that was with you when we got there, he says you knew he could help you. How did you know that he could help you?"

Her throat seemed to close up as she placed her forehead against the table, feeling the tears pull from her eyes and fall to the metal. Her cheeks were practically soaking in the the salt water puddle as she shook her head. "He helped me when I got shot.. He saved my life. I thought..." Her voice was choked out when she tried to finish the rest of the sentence. "Please just turn the fucking pictures back over. I- I can't see him like that again."

How was she to know who killed Josh? _Why_ they would kill Josh. She only knew his niece, Riley, and Riley loved him as if he were her own brother. And with a few more thoughts passed, the hair on the back of her neck rose, her mind racing with a thought more frightening than someone after Josh. Someone was after her, waiting to take down everyone that she would get close to, all before they killed.

Maya lifted her head, her lips trembling as she meet the eyes of the detective. His eyes searched her face, and after a few moments he motioned for her hands to be uncuffed. "If we have any further questions for you, we'll contact you."

She nodded, almost as if she were numb to any actual feeling. It couldn't have been further from the truth; she was terrified. And the only way to pretend like she wasn't was to pretend that she didn't have any emotions at all.

* * *

Lucas waited in the chair against the Captain's office window, his feet tapping against the floor impatiently. "How long is it going to fucking take?" he hissed under his breath, glaring at the officers who had arrested him. It had been a simple interrogation and he'd cooperated, giving times, proof of the call to 911, surveillance videos. Anything that could put Maya at his apartment at the right times so she could be proved innocent without doubt. He knew that the death had been set at less than an hour from when the ambulance had arrived. With the times, it would've been impossible for her to kill him, especially since she had been walking.

Maya walked out of one of the rooms, his eyes instantly finding her. His body was already in motion, finding himself looming over her and his eyes boring into hers. "Maya."

Her eyes looked up to his and he placed his hands onto the sides of her head; he knew the way he looked at her was too compassionate, too soft for someone who'd had just spoken that there was nothing between them. But was that what really mattered at this point? She had been most likely traumatized from seeing the photos; he saw accidents frequently and he'd gotten sick. He could only imagine what was going through her mind. "Are you alright?"

The exhale of air, the way she took a step closer and one hand closed around his wrist. "Just take me home. Please."

"Someone just shot at your vehicle; you're either staying with me or I'm staying with you. Pick whichever you want."

Her eyes searched his before she nodded, her hand still holding onto his arm as they pulled away. He ached to tell her he was sorry for Josh's death, but when he thought about it, would he really have wanted for Maya to stay there and get killed as well? The person who had killed Josh wouldn't have left a witness to chance when he came to finish up the job. And while Maya would've had survivors guilt, he couldn't promise that he would lose the same amount of sleep while knowing she was alive.


	8. Pieces Solving a Puzzle

_Author's Note:_

 _Words can't describe how much I miss these two. I was on a bit of a break and took a binge watching session. They're just too beautiful to be in the same time as me. And the more I watch, the more angry I get about how the triangle was "resolved." Like please excuse yourself, Jacobs. You fucked up **big** time._

 _Enjoy this next chapter! We find out the question everyone's been asking: "Who dun it?" There's no tricks on this one, but there's more to it that you ever thought out. Please comment your theories as to who you thought it was going to be/how it was going to pan out! I've been curious as to what all of you have thought._

 _(Warning: if it says that I've updated a chapter, it's to fix word mistakes and punctuation mistakes. I reread some of my work to pick up where I left off and the disappointment hit. Please forgive me, haha.)_

* * *

"I want to go home," Maya said, looking at him with her big, blue eyes with a look that told him she wasn't budging.

"You aren't going home." His tone was rough and he didn't care too much to soften it for her. She needed to hear him be firm at least once in his life.

Her eyes narrowed at him, her mouth opened in a slight form of shock. "You're telling me I can't go home because you said so? Are you fucking serious, Friar?"

"I am when Josh could've been you!" He felt the vein in his neck pop and he closed his eyes, resting his head on the steering wheel for a moment. "Maybe he was in some drug related shit and it has nothing to do with you but before I even think of leaving you by yourself, I need to know that he was shot for some other reason."

Her arms were crossed over her chest, her hands in fists, her jaw tilted. "I don't need your help, Ranger Rick. I've been just fine on my own for a long time now."

"Well, that didn't work, now did it?"

Silence fell between them and Lucas had to bite his tongue to keep from apologizing. He'd been harsh, perhaps too harsh, but didn't he need to be? She had to understand why he wouldn't be okay with her being alone right after what had happened. Just the thought was almost too much on its own when she was the only one injured. Could she really blame him?

He drove to his apartment without another word, exchanging only sighs and dirty glances between the two of them. Once he opened the door, he turned on the lights and began to work on making the couch a somewhat workable futon. "Take my bed." When she looked like she was about to argue, he gave her a stern look that meant she wasn't to ask questions about it. "And try not to go through my drawers. That's not exactly considered bedside manner."

Maya didn't turn around to look at him for a moment, instead choosing to raise her hand and flip him off for good measure. And to his disbelief, he actually smiled about it.

* * *

Lucas had Riley sit with Maya in the receptionists office, being sure that Maya did more of the paper work than the face to face work. (It had been a bit cruel since Riley had lost someone who was like a brother to her, but she had refused to take some time off and he didn't exactly trust her to get right back on the horse yet.) He placed a file on the desk and Riley's brown eyes shot up to him like a frightened deer. Her expression softened and became a smile before she slid the window over and picked up the file. "Thank you, Dr. Friar."

"You're welcome, Riley." In the corner of his eye, he could see Maya mocking him, most likely on the accent, but he gave no mind to it, exchanging a smile with the girl in front of him. "Today seems a bit empty, doesn't it?"

Her hand moved to curl some hair behind her ear before she nodded, shrugging carelessly. "I figure that people will start rolling in any time now. You're too good of a veterinarian for them not to." She paused before smiling slightly wider and opening her mouth to say something else, only to be cut off by the phone ringing.

She held up a finger and picked up the phone, answering it with an overly cheerful voice. He tuned it out for the most part until she tapped on the desk, holding the phone out to him. He took it with a slight look of embarrassment, cursing softly under his breath before focusing again on reality.

"Yes, hello, this is Dr. Friar."

"Well, Dr. Friar, this is the detective of Josh Matthew's murder case. Earlier, when we were checking his vehicle again, we found a gun. We matched the bullet and injuries to his type of hand gun, meaning that after being shot, he was shot with his own gun."

While he listened, his eyebrows pulled together, his lips pressing together. It sounded like something that would be committed by a gang. Which rose the question as to why the man on the other side of the phone had bothered to call him.

"Okay, but what does this have to do with me?"

There was a pause before a deep breath was given from the other side of the phone. "You said that Maya Hart had been shot. And since she was in the car with him, you can see where this is going. You said you saved the bullet in case the occasion ever came that it could be traced to who shot her."

"You need the bullet," he finished quietly, going and opening the door to the office and walking to a cabinet. He'd placed it in a bag, far in the back, as if he knew that someone would break in to make it disappear. "When do I need to bring it in?"

"On your lunch break. Plan to take the day off as well while we run the forensics on it. And bring Miss Hart with you as well."

Lucas felt his gaze shift to Maya, the bag curled up into his hand and a soft sigh leaving him. "Will do. I'll have to make a few arrangements but other than that, I'll be there by noon." He then leaned over the chair and whispered into Maya's ear, being as discreet as he could be with everything going on. This was the moment where he was proved right, even with as unfortunate as it was. Which meant that he'd have to either convince her to stay with himself, Zay, or Riley. With the way things were looking now, most likely the latter two. But in making it in all the mess and mayhem, did it really matter?

* * *

He couldn't place it, why he couldn't keep his legs still, even after sitting in a police station for three hours. He felt a warm, but firm hand on his thigh, nails digging in through his jeans. "Huckleberry, if you don't stop in the next five seconds, I'll find a way to rip your leg off."

His emerald gaze shifted to find her smiling, but not in the most friendly way. It was like she was holding back from just doing it immediately. His leg had stopped when their eyes had met and her hand pulled away slowly, though he wasn't sure why it had taken a few moments. "Are you seriously telling me that you're completely calm right now?" The blonde Texan felt his eyebrows raise in her direction and her eyes softened, her lips flattening out slightly.

"Look, you and I both know that they're not going to find anything. This is basically a long break for me." She chuckled and tapped her fingers along the metal of the arm rests of her chair. "And besides, don't we deserve a break?" Her voice was convincing; hell, he almost bought it for a few moments in there. If he hadn't spent so much time up at night thinking about it, he would've believed it without a second thought.

Just as he was about to argue, a detective tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for the both of them to follow, sending his stomach right down to his feet. It felt like his intestines were dragging as he stood up and walked, hearing the click of the blonde's heels on the floor. Everything else had drowned out almost, the clicks only aligned with his pulse, though his heartbeat was a thousand miles faster than the tempo he was being given.

The Texan only sat after Maya had, everything in him screaming to take her hand or hold onto at least some part of her.

"We ran the tests." The detective opened the file and placed the papers before them before she laced her hands together in front of her.

"And?" the woman sitting next to him asked, only taking a moment to glance at the graphs. By the looks of it, from what he could even try to understand, it was just lines and numbers on a paper.

The brunette sighed, pressing her lips together and looking as though she were trying to find an explanation. "The bullets matched."

"Which ones?" he asked, his eyebrows pulling together. He sat forward, leaning his arms on the desk before him and making eye contact. He needed answers; by the way the hair on the back of his neck was beginning to stand up, his gut was telling him that the answer he had feared was nothing compared to what he was about to be hearing.

"After careful analysis of the blood left on both bullets and ran through a data base to be matched with the DNA on the recovered item at the crime scene, it's safe to say that the bullet that Miss Hart was shot with came from Josh Matthew's gun."


	9. Do-si-doing Around Feelings

_Author's Note:_

 _So I did take a few of you for a bit of a turn, didn't I? Well, you're in luck that I'm in a writing mood and want to get a ball rolling. This chapter has turned out ten times than I ever thought it would. We get to see the sweetest of my little bean, Lucas Friar. He is such a sweetheart and I think I've showed that but I wanted the ULTIMATE bean level._

 _I will say that in the next chapter, we **will** meet Farkle. (Smackle will not be included in this story, mainly because I won't be able to give her character any justice when I've made other main characters background to my two precious beans.) __While all this time, it's seemed like things are somewhat one sided, we'll see that not everything is as it seems in this chapter. Can someone spell.. jealous? And this will most likely be my last chapter with Maya's point of view; I like one side to have some mystery to it!_

 _Please enjoy this next chapter. It will be long and there will be a **major** Lucaya scene. You're welcome._

* * *

There wasn't words to explain the feeling. Was it regret? Guilt? Relief?

All he could think was one thing: _If she had left, what would have happened?_

His emerald eyes wandered over to her and her fists were clenched so tightly that he could have sworn he saw the blood begin to stop flowing. His hand reached over to her wrist, his fingers just over her pulse; he could feel just how fast it was pumping. About a million miles a minute. The scariest part about it was how well she was keeping everything else still.

Her expression hadn't changed and her legs hadn't started an anxious rhythm. She was as steady as a rock.

"Maya." Lucas made sure that his voice was soft, as if she were a doe who would run off at the first sign of trouble. What he wasn't paying attention to was how the detective was watching him; he felt the stare but he gave it no mind. It was Maya that was important for the moment.

After a cleared throat, he felt his hand pull away, as if he remembered how unnatural it was for a friend to hold onto someone the way he had been holding onto Maya. He glanced one more time before turning his attention back to the police officer and taking a deep breath. "What happens now?"

Dark red lips pressed together in a thin line, brown eyes narrowing in his direction. "Well, for one, you'll have to provide your alibi's again, have to stay for questioning. As long as you cooperate, you should be out of here in no time. I assume that will be no problem."

He nodded, glancing to the blonde next to him before rising up from his chair. Maya stood up next to him and his hand moved to her shoulder, their eyes meeting for the first time since the news had dropped. And he could tell that no matter what he said next, she wouldn't hear it; it would be white noise compared to what she was dealing with right now. So he gave a careful squeeze and let go, something he seemed to be growing in the habit of doing, before he left her behind and went to give DNA samples and be questioned.

Lucas found himself being steered down the hallway and to the third room on the right, finding a new detective waiting for him. It was a man this time, sporting a five o'clock shadow and weary eyes. He felt a small twinge of compassion for the man before remembering why he was here; it was to clear his name, _Maya's name_ , and move on.

He sighed and sat down, his hands resting in front of him in a carefree manner. Just that movement seemed to be under a microscope, just from the way he was being looked at from the officer. "Detective Desseno." They shook hands after a moment, mainly because Lucas offered his hand out of habit. Damn his momma for teaching him Southern hospitality.

"Now, Mister Friar-"

" _Doctor Friar,_ " he cut in, clearing his throat. It wouldn't serve him well to look so smug but he couldn't help it. He knew that they probably suspected him for some reason, like being at the scene first. Part of that made his stomach drop to his knees; sure, he'd wasn't always considered the best of the bunch ("Texas Lucas" as some of his friends had called him), but he wasn't a murderer.

But then he thought about it. If he had known that the man who'd tried to kill his friend was right in front of his face, would he really have been able to stop himself from hurting someone? Deep down, he knew that it would never escalate to that point, but **he would've fucked Josh up harder than anyone in a jail cell could ever dream of.**

And he wasn't talking about the beat up eye, cut lip kind of fight. It was the kind where he would've broken a few bones, probably would've gotten assault charges, and had to pay all the money he had in his banking account so that he could get out.

There was a knock along the metal, something that brought him out of the thought process and looking to a photo set out onto the table. It was of him kissing Maya and his eyebrows pulled together in confusion before he looked at the date, his expression becoming blank. The picture was impossible to see in the way that it had happened; his arms were around her, laced with the intent to score and the way her hands were already on his shirt to pull it from his body. "It wasn't like that."

"No? Because it looks like you're kissing the girl who was shot before her boyfriend was killed."

He leaned forward, clasping his hands together; his heart rate was about to send him into cardiac arrest if he wasn't careful. "Look, yes, she and I had sex. And I'm not going to try to cover that up, but that doesn't mean that I killed Josh."

Desseno before him stood, observing him in a way that made a chill run up his spine. "I think you were jealous of Josh. After all, he was the boyfriend and you were the guy she came to when she needed someone to bone when he wasn't there for her."

His lips pressed together as he gathered himself, pushing away the anger that came along with how much the comment stung. It wasn't.. wrong. "No."

"And when you found out about what he did to her? It was hero time. All you had to do was level out the odds by getting rid of him."

"No." He knew it was just a tactic, maybe to get him worked up, maybe to be eased into a confession; either way, that didn't make it true.

"It would have been so e-"

Lucas was out of his seat, eyes level with the police officer. He felt the same anger from all those years ago, the kind that would send him spiraling out of control to the point where he would _have_ to be arrested. His chest rose and fell slowly, while he still held onto the strongest memory that kept him at bay, seeing his reflection in the black eyes in front of him. His rage was written all over his face. "I didn't kill Josh. I slept with Maya once. And if you ask anyone who knows a single thing about me, you'll know that what came out of your mouth is, to date, the most incompetent thing you've said in your entire career."

His hand reached out, without dropping eye contact, managing to put his fingertips on the file, and dragging it to the middle of the table. "If your academy taught you anything, you'll know that doing a little research never hurts," he hissed, turning away from the table and walking out the door.

* * *

 **[ Maya's Point of View ]**

When Lucas had come out of the interrogation room, she felt it in the pit of her stomach. Something was.. _wrong_. She'd seen him get worked up about things that were no big deal, but that had been nothing compared to the war raging on in his vibrant, seafoam green eyes. The way he walked suggested that he wanted out of the building faster than a human being could actually move.

Her eyes flickered back to the officer before letting herself out, seeing him attempting to yank the tie from his neck and nearly ripping the fabric in the process. "Lucas," she said softly, catching his attention just as her hand moved over his to take over the actions. She felt the way his hand trembled, like he was just on the brink losing himself into something much worse than what anyone would expect of him.

And be that as it may, it surprised her. She had always seem him as someone so good that they could never loose their temper, or even come close to anything other than kindness. Perhaps it was because that was all he showed her, after all that she owed him and she still took, still made fun of him, despite that kindness.

Her fingers slowly undid the knot as she swallowed hard, taking a few moments to just look at the tie before she looked up to him. "You alright, Sundance?" she inquired under her breath as his own hit her cheek. It was quick puffs, heated and like he were deliberately bottling something up. Her hand reached up and turned his chin so that he looked at her, just as he had done with her what seemed to be so many nights ago, his eyes finally meeting hers.

"I'll be fine." His hands pulled hers off and she still held the tie, crumpled up, confused slightly as he walked to the station's door and held it open for her. He motioned for her to pass through but didn't say a word, avoiding making eye contact with her at all costs.

Silence overtook their drive to his apartment, lingered for dinner, and outstayed its welcome when they sat next to each other on the couch and watched TV together. Her hand moved over the remote when he wasn't paying attention, turning it off and turning towards him.

She saw his expression, something she wasn't sure she'd seen before, all before it dimmed down to confusion. "What was that for?" he asked, raising a dark blonde brow in her direction.

The words caught in her throat because she knew she was supposed to ask him how he was, to find some way to make him feel better like he had done for her. And yet, she couldn't do it; she knew that she would try and ended up failing him miserably. There was something about not seeking out disappointment if it could be avoided. So instead, she gave him a smirk and laid down, lifting her shirt so that it was up to her ribs. "I don't feel like changing the bandages, Sunshine. Wanna step on it?"

She tossed him a wink as he chuckled and got up, going to his kitchen to retrieve his first aid kit. "You act like you haven't seen me naked. Even when you aren't being such a Huckleberry, you are _still_ such a Huckleberry."

He rolled his eyes and came back with the kit, opening it and digging through it for a few moments before pulling out the items he needed. "I can think of a few times where you can admit I was far from it." He pulled off the bandage and set it aside, moving to clean the wound carefully. His touch was gentle but it felt like he were practically scraping the cleanser along her stitches.

Her teeth clenched together in pain but she laughed, shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I can't remember a time you w-"

"Funny, I don't remember you thinking I was a Huckleberry when you were bent over my coffee table." His tone was casual and his expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She was, unfortunately, impressed with his comeback. She wouldn't have expected him to say something like that to her.

Her eyebrows raised when his hand slid down to her hip, only for it to move from her body entirely and back to the supplies. For a moment, she had felt the same heat she had that night, when she'd come to him because her initial distraction had disappeared. "Touché."

* * *

It had taken ages for her to fall asleep that night; she'd become surprisingly used to the bed and she'd refused to move from the couch. It was only being fair since he'd been sleeping on the couch for a few days now. Somehow, she'd expected more of a fight from him but he looked too exhausted to put up one.

Maya felt her shoulder shake gently and she groaned, rolling over in an attempt to ignore who was trying to pull her from her blank dreams. Just because there wasn't anything there didn't mean that she wanted to leave. "Just ten more minutes."

She felt a gust of hot air against her neck, a soft chuckle following it. "I don't think life works like that," a Texan twang greeted, the hand belonging to the man moving from her shoulder to her elbow. "Come on, Maya," the voice mumbled in a slightly frustrated tone, "I'm not carrying you to the hospital for your appointment."

Her eyes opened and she saw that her head was level enough to see the time on the microwave in the kitchen. "It's _five in the morning,_ Ranger Roy; I'm not getting up and there's nothing you can say or do that will change that." She could practically feel his eye roll from where she was laying but she didn't care. She wasn't moving until she absolutely had to.

With a soft sigh, she felt her hair being gently taken in his hand, something she wasn't expecting, all before she was caught off guard more than she had been the previous night. His nose had skimmed up her neck, sending her skin into goosebumps and a near gasp to exit her lips. It was all she had not to shudder from the way he was breathing against her throat, like he was holding back something himself. "Come on, Maya," he beckoned, his chuckle holding something more behind it.

Just as she was about to turn her head towards him, the warmth from behind her had disappeared. She sat up and rubbed her neck, almost wondering if she had just imagined him being there at all. _It's Ranger Rick; get a good head on your shoulders, Maya._

When she saw him coming out of his room, she found herself pressing her legs together, tilting her head slightly and taking a deep breath in to remind herself to calm down. And with the slight smirk on his lips, she knew that the chill that ran down her spine was real, just as his wake up call had been. The goosebumps started again, just remembering how close his lips had been to her jaw, and she knew just where that would have gotten her. The question was why, after all the distance between them last night.

"Try not to take forever in the shower, alright?" he said, moving to make coffee and leaving her still dumbfounded. It felt like she'd moved in, like this was where her home was now. As grateful as she was to him for wanting her to be in his sights, it reminded her of how much she owed him. He had saved her life, was continuing to do it (or that's what she assumed he was doing), and she owed him more than she could ever repay.

She would've slipped away if she knew that he wouldn't follow. And perhaps that was the worst thing about him. He cared _too much._

Maya spent her fifteen minutes in the shower contemplating her odds of convincing him to skip the appointment today. She only had two weeks of them left and she knew it was healing on track; the thought of them having to act like a couple yet again sent her stomach in knots, though she wasn't sure why.

She smelled like something that he had in his shower, half used before she'd ever gotten the chance to use it herself. Some part of her wondered just how many people he'd been with. He seemed like such a pure and innocent boy before, but she knew better than to think like that when he'd gotten his hands on her. But afterwards, he'd become the same Huckleberry from before, good and someone who wouldn't hook up with someone more than once a year. Yet the fact that he had showering options for a woman said differently.

She walked out of the shower in two towels, deliberately leaving the shower rug in a messy fashion and the door wide open. Stem spilled from the room and into Lucas', something that caused him to look up. "Be ready in five or I'm not going at all," she taunted, swaying her hips as she walked out.

* * *

The nurses envied her. She could feel it every time she walked into the damn hospital, hand in hand with a certain cowboy. He was always so polite in signing her in, often offering to carry her to the room to look like the ultimate boyfriend. (That benefited her since she didn't necessarily want to walk down the long hallway.)

And while it partially annoyed her that he had called himself her boyfriend, she didn't mind it. She couldn't think of anyone else who would understand what was happening to her as much as he did. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Josh had been back here with her, especially with all the things he could have killed her with.

As much as it pissed her off to admit it, she felt.. safe with Lucas. She knew that if he was going to hurt her, he would have done it by now, rather than spending over sixty five thousand dollars on her surgery and more with every check up.

Today, she held onto him tighter, her head resting on his arm as they waited. He didn't say anything, something that normally would have been awkward for her, but it wasn't. The silence was comfortable, listening to his breathing was preferable than to listening to a Southern twang that might as well have said, "I'm definitely not from around here," after everything he actually said.

Her name was called eventually and he tapped on her leg, only to make her remember just how warm he was; it was like he'd brought the heat of a desert with him when he moved.

Maya lay down on the bed, smirking to him when the nurse left them alone to wait for the doctor. After about a fifteen minute wait, the doctor came in, followed by the same nurse that had brought them to the room. "My fingers are feeling a bit cold, sweetie. Could you help take off my clothes?"

Lucas rolled his eyes when the two had turned away, standing up and pulling off her coat with a slight bitter look on his face. He buttoned her shirt, showing an intense amount of effort not to look at her breasts as he did so. "I'm going to end up killing you," he mumbled under his breath.

She smirked wider, leaning forward and whispering into his ear, "Well then you'll love this little bit." She pulled back and gave a convincing giggle, slapping his hands before pulling the shirt from her shoulders. " _Lucas_! Not now! I'm about to get a checkup." She leaned forward again, seeing the glances that the doctor and nurse exchanged, chuckling into his ear softly. "Your move."

* * *

She picked at the dark green nail polish on her fingernails, sighing heavily. She went from doing ninety percent of the work to being paid to sit there. And while she relished in part of it, mainly because she could go to her teachers and prove them wrong about such a thing, she knew it was for a completely different reason.

Lucas was treating her like a victim, like she had to be protected at all costs. And it irritated the life out of her. Not because the gesture wasn't nice, but because she knew it wasn't a genuine gesture at this point. He was doing it because he had invested too much money in her for her to just die and become ashes again. That was why she practically lived with him now, in his guest bedroom; her art was even hanging in one section of his living room. _And she hated it._

She watched as Lucas came into the office and sat down in a chair. She opened her mouth to say something, something degrading and clever, only to see his chair turn to Riley. He put a hand on the brunette's shoulder, his thumb rubbing comforting circles directly onto the girl's skin. Maya could hear the soft sobbing, and despite knowing better, she scooted closer, just enough so that she could hear when they were talking.

There was a deep breath taken but sounded more like a desperate attempt for air. "He was.. He was like my brother. He's one of the few people I've had all my life." The girl's head turned and it showed just how much Josh had meant to her; tears were streaming down her cheeks and she looked as though she were on the brink of falling apart. "And now he's just gone. We can't have a closed casket because of what happened to him. Who would do that, why would they do that? He was a good person!"

The green eyed vet wrapped an arm around her as she wiped the tears away from her eyes, only for more to fall. "Sometimes, people make choices that we can't prevent or understand. But it's not what happened but how we react to what happened that matters, Riles."

Maya felt her upper lip curl, like she'd eaten something that she couldn't stand. _Riles. Of course he had to be so sweet. Lucas Friar, the boy who has every girl wrapped around his finger because he's as sweet as sugar._

And while she reminded herself that Riley had lost someone, she couldn't help having to hold back the urge to make a vomiting sound. But no matter what she did, she couldn't just look away from the scene unfolding from her. She felt.. betrayed? Lucas had known what had happened, that the same man that the girl in the front office mourned was the same one that had shot her.

And there Lucas was, unable to keep his hands off the person related to a shooter; couldn't he just keep his hands to himself and give the same comfort? He did with every single patient with a freshly deceased dog.

Her hands curled into fists when she thought about how those hands had touched her; it wasn't just the shoulders, it had been nearly every single part of her. Her hands, her wrists, her face, her hair; come to think of it, he had touched her more than anyone else in her life had in a very long time. Part of her longed for that warmth again, the callouses that were only on the insides of his palms, the heartbeat that rested just in the middle, the same one that she had in her ear when he'd brought her to ecstasy.

With the tilt of her jaw, her cheeks hugged her cheekbones and proved she was.. No, she couldn't have been _that_. She pulled the jacket from the back of her chair and passed the currently conversing couple, seeing that Lucas' head instantly turned to her. She didn't dare look at him with more than the corner of her eye until she heard his voice.

"Maya." It was a warning, one that she'd heard her entire high school career.

She turned to him, seeing his arm still wrapped around small shoulders and his cheek rested against the head that was on his own broad shoulder. "Yes, Dr. Friar?" she asked sarcastically, resting her elbows against the counter and giving him a dreamy look, as if she were lost in his eyes.

He sighed and looked to be in thought before saying, "Have Zay drop you off at home. By home, I mean my apartment." He rose a finger to her, one she swatted away without a second thought. Did he really think he could just point a finger at her like that? _As if, Friar._

His emerald orbs flickered past her for a moment and she turned to see Zay in the doorway of the hall, smiling at her like he'd won a prize of some sort. "You'll want to listen to him, Maya."

Maya rolled her eyes in response, pressing her lips together for a moment. "And if I don't?"

Zay's eyebrows rose before he moved closer, bending down slightly and lifting her over his shoulder. Her hands beat against his back as she was carried out until the parking lot. "Let. Me. Down," she hissed, growling about a million insults under her breath. "I swear to God, I will kick you back to fucking Texas if you don't let me down!" She was let down close to a red vehicle, sighing as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The Texan smiled at her sarcastically this time, unlocking the car. "If I go, Lucas goes. And we both know you don't want that." He laughed softly and paused for a few moments when her nose wrinkled up and her eyebrows pulled together in disgust. "Make that face all you want but I saw the way you were walking the other day. And I know you weren't like that you got here. Admit it; Friar did one hell of a number on you."

She didn't respond at all because there were only two things she could say: "How did you know?" or "Yeah, sure." And even if she could fool almost every one out there about her.. Entanglement with her boss, she knew Zay had to have been watching more closely than she had thought if he had noticed the way she had been walking. And just that thought made her hate that cow wrangler more than she already did.

* * *

 **[ Lucas' Point of View ]**

Lucas had spent the past week running around from one spot to the other. Now that he was on the last appointment of the day, he finally let himself take a well deserved breath. He rested against the wall, inhaling deeply a few times before turning into the room. He saw the woman in the room and gave her a small smile before sitting down in the chair in his office. He opened the file as he rolled to the table, looking at the dog for a moment before he looked at the writing.

He remembered now, his lips pressing together for a few seconds before he glanced back up. "I know that today will be a very hard day on you, Miss Bradford."

Their eyes met and he could see the tears in hers, one slipping down her cheek as she couldn't speak. Her hand reached out and grabbed onto his, her eyes closing as she seemed to gather herself. "I know that you'll do your best to make sure he goes out in the possible; everyone talked to about you said that you always made their pet comfortable and happy before they were put down. I just ask that you do that for Molly."

The Texan nodded, pulling his hand away from hers and beginning to stroke Molly's fur, seeing that her tail still wagged, though it was slow. It made him sad for the owner, but he knew that keeping the dog alive, with all the organs shutting down due to age, would just make the dog in pain until it's death.

After a few strokes, he rolled to the lower cabinet with the euthanasia medication, pulling out a syringe and the bottle of medication. He pulled out ketamine and another syringe for the sedation, returning to his spot and preparing the sedative. He injected the needle through the injection point of the bottle, withdrawing the needed amount before moving the fur away from a muscle in the back of the dog's leg. "If you'll pet her, she'll be more calm than she would be ordinarily."

His concentration took him to the injection spot, meaning he had no idea if Missy had taken up on his suggestion. He didn't feel the dog fight him and he sighed softly when he withdrew the needle from the skin, knowing that the hardest part was what came next. He disposed of the syringe properly, his gaze finding Missy's as he moved to prepare the final injection.

"Does.. Will it hurt her to die?" she asked, her voice soft as she petted just behind the animal's ears.

Lucas thought for a moment, whether or not he should really get into the science of the situation, then decided against it. His voice lowered, like she were a doe that he was trying to get close to and stop from running. "It'll be just as easy as if she were falling asleep. She won't feel a thing."

This made the woman come to peace with the operation, her head nodding for when she was ready for it. He made it as quick as he could, seeing the final breath after a few minutes and exhaling a deep breath at the sight. "One of my nurses will talk to you about what you want to do with her, should you want to have her buried or other things." He helped the woman out into the hall and directed her towards one of the people that had been hired to ease the load on how busy things had become.

He looked down the other side of the hall, heading that way with a sigh for a small break. Putting down an animal was always hard for him; it was the opposite of what his goals of becoming a vet were. But nature took it's course and there was nothing he could do about it, other than ease an animal into death.

The moment he reached the counter, his hands held onto the edge, holding on until his hands knuckles were beginning to become white. He took a deep breath, collecting himself and looking up into his reflection in the glass. He hadn't noticed the man beside him too much, but a familiar voice pulled his attention from his thoughts.

"Friar?"

Lucas turned his head and saw a face he hadn't seen since high school. It was Charlie Gardener. His tongue suddenly caught a bitter taste, causing his expression to become one that showed his distaste for the figure before him. Remembering that he had a business and that he had to be polite, he extended a hand towards the man, nodding respectfully. "Charlie. I'm assuming you're here for Riley."

His voice was empty of emotion; he knew how the being in front of him worked. In fact, he'd lost a few girlfriends from the creep; girls wanted someone attentive, sensitive, and someone who paid attention. And after Charlie had given up on winning over Riley from her high school boyfriend, he'd directed his attention to every other girl that had a boyfriend that was falling behind in certain areas.

Unfortunately for the Texan, he just happened to be one of those boys, more caught up in friends and his grades than a girl he knew would move on at some point. Despite knowing all of that, it didn't stop his bitterness.

"I sent my dog in for a few shots, actually; I was actually talking to Miss Hart about how she likes working here." The bastard smiled at him, with that smug, knowing smile.

The blonde looked to the person behind the desk, seeing that it was _Maya_ rather than Riley; his hands were about to break the counter at this rate. He took a deep breath, looking back to the boy that had proved to be a nuisance on more than one occasion for him, giving a forced smile. "Good for you. Glad to see you took the rejection well for once."

Charlie's expression changed for a split second, like he was about to punch the life out of someone, all before his appearance returned to a sweet kid that everyone would've defended the honor of. "Maya didn't reject me for lunch. I'm just having to wait for her."

Perhaps it was the temperature outside, maybe it was the way he didn't like the look on the creep's face, but Lucas excused himself, opening the door to the receptionist's office and pointed towards Maya, making a very deliberate head movement towards the hall. She sneered back at him, making it clear that she didn't want to go, only to get a low, "Now."

Maya rose from her seat, giving a sweet smile towards Charlie, all before excusing herself and going to the now crowded hallway, shoving the door between the two spaces open harshly. She stood before him, arms crossed over her chest and glaring up at him. Despite his obvious height advantage, she held a more intimidating presence for the moment. "Did you not learn your lesson the last time you messed with who I wanted to talk to?"

"Are you sure you weren't the one who learned the lesson?" he spat back, his gaze reflecting his annoyance to the apology he made, one he wished he could take back. "You don't even _know_ him."

"So? How will I get to know him if you won't let me out of your sight?" she growled, her hand moving to his chest and giving him a shove. He could tell she hadn't expected him not to budge; her eyebrows pulling together in frustration.

He inhaled deeply, his eyes searching hers as he tried to bring his anger down. "If you'll just listen to me, I think you'll thank me for talking some sense into you."

"I don't need you to a damn thing for me. He's ten times nicer than Josh and most certainly nicer than you."

"He's a fucking creep! He stalked Riley all throughout high school, if that tells you anything about him," Lucas argued, getting the bitter taste in his mouth again for a whole new reason.

Maya laughed, shaking her head. "Whatever. I bet you and Riley were a thing in high school and because he's less of a douche bag than you, she picked him. I can't say I blame her either. He doesn't have 'Mr. Perfect' written on his forehead like _some people I know._ "

He felt his chest rising up quickly, his eyes focused on hers with precision. "Would you just listen to me?" He could feel the way his blood was boiling, how she had been the one who could get him this riled up in a matter of seconds. "Just trust me; this guy isn't good news."

"Like you are," she snapped back, her eyes narrowing. "You're so _good_. You're the choir boy, the one that every father secretly wants their little girl to bring home." Her words weren't meant to be out of kindness. The curl of her lip and the way she practically spat the words out like they left a horrible taste in her mouth. Maya took a step closer and he could've sworn she had taken all the breath out of his lungs. "When are you ever going to drop the act?"

"The act?" His eyebrows pushed together in confusion. What act could she have been referring to?

She nodded, taking one final step closer, her blue eyes seeming to pierce his soul to look for a flaw, one thing to hold over him. "The, 'good guy who protects every single person he meets because that's just the guy he is.' When is that act ever going to just drop off from you, huh, Cowboy?"

"Right when your, 'I'll push everyone away and pretend I don't care about anything,' act rubs off on me. Since we spend so much time together, I'm surprised it hasn't already." His hands were shaking, stuffed in his pockets because he needed to keep her from seeing how much she was really getting to him.

Her lips turned into a smirk, her head tilting so that her curls moved to her back and other shoulder. He tried to keep his eyes on hers rather than the pale flesh that had been exposed to him, biting into his tongue. "I'm so sorry, Huckleberry. I just haven't had the lessons in Southern hospitality that you have; do teach me your ways."

"Stop."

"No, no, no, _please_. I want someone to tell me how someone else doesn't deserve to be with me because they didn't trade their best cow for me." She grabbed his shirt by the collar, pulling him down so that their faces were intensely close and he could see the fire practically burning through her. It almost burned for her to touch him. "Go on, tell me with that stupid accent of yours."

For a moment, it was just the sound of her breathing, the way it hit his cheek, like she wanted to emphasize just how angry she was. But now that he was close enough to finally look, he noticed that her eyes never took the hint. They were surprisingly soft, like she was holding something dear close rather than someone she wanted to strangle.

The more his gaze sifted through hers, the more her anger transferred over, slowly kindling the abandoned blaze, and making it even more impossible to look away. "Ranger Rick," she hissed, her hand curling into more fabric. "Earth to Ranger Rick."

Lucas couldn't have been more off his rocker than he was now. But then again, crazier things had happened between both of them. So with his shirt in her hand and his own hands moving to cradle her face, he kissed her, throwing every bit of himself into it; his lips were pressed to hers like he was trying to rebuke every desire for her in one kiss, all while trying to whisper that some part of him promised that he wasn't letting a single one of them go.


End file.
